1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system and method for automatically sorting collapsed cartons, based on carton size and/or type, for inspecting each carton, e.g., to assess integrity and other criteria as to suitability of the carton for purposes of reuse, and for stacking the sorted cartons in corresponding stacks of uniform carton size and/or type and in a desired orientation, thereby facilitating subsequent reuse of the cartons.
2. State of the Relevant Art
A manufacturer can ship its product from its factory in a variety of reusable cartons. These reusable cartons are eventually emptied, flattened and returned to the factory in an unsorted stack. Many hours are spent by plant personnel who sort these cartons by hand, typically stacking same in uniform size and/or type and orientation, on a pallet for transport to a filling station at which the cartons are re-erected and filled with the product and thus recycled, or reused.
A number of devices and systems are known in the prior art which provide for limited aspects of handling of cartons and containers and related pallets. Examples thereof are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,988,263, 4,681,502, 4,462,746, 3,776,396, 3,682,338, 3,448,867, 3,282,398 and 2,699,264. While these and other prior art systems may facilitate individual steps in the handling of cartons and may supplement and thus facilitate manual processing by plant personnel, none thereof provides for fully automated handling, sorting and related carton processing functions.
Accordingly, there is a significant need to automate these functions and thus to afford an automated system and method for sorting and stacking reusable cartons.